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Satellite Hackers Charged Under DMCA
RexHavoc writes "'Invoking the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a federal grand jury has indicted six people on charges of developing software and hardware designed to hack into paid TV satellite transmissions.' My guess is that for those who haven't already plead guilty, they will have a tough time proving that they had good intentions, unlike Dmitry Sklyarov's e-books case."
Everyone is complaining that these guys got arrested for producing devices and software that allow hacking of the Satalite networks. And that they shouldn't be arrested because they didn't do any hacking themselves. Should they be prosecuted?
Well, the US has 156,000 troops about to invade Iraq because they are building Weapons of Mass destruction. They haven't used them to to cause any destruction, but they are building them. Is there any difference?
If they don't want me to pirate their signal, why did they send it to me?
Because they want to catch you doing it so they can hear you repeat your sad, self-justifying argument with your faced pressed into a pillow as some 800 pound gorilla enjoys your smooth, tight anus in a Federal prison someplace.
You have GOT to be kidding me.
Ok, here's one for ya. I'm gonna start a company and become a competing service provider to DirecTV. I'm gonna deliver content to everyone's house, my delivery medium will be ping-pong balls. I'll have encrypted content written on each ping-pong ball, it'll probably be along the lines of "YUCK FOU".
I'm gonna start lobbing hundreds of these little suckers into your house every day. Now, if you touch them, pick them up, or even ATTEMPT to read the message on them (unless of course you've got a monthly contract with me to do so, low price of $49.99), you're breaking the law and I'm gonna put your ass in jail.
Geeeez. It makes my skin crawl to see how many people buy into D-TV's argument. It'd be laughable if they weren't so successful at brainwashing all you monkeys.
It's sad because its self-justifying. If you're not willing to see that, at least acknowledge that the guy is stealing signals/service/etc as most people would define it.
We as a society have collectively decided its OK for parts of the electromagnetic spectrum to be used to conduct business. Satellite TV is one of those businesses. To protect their product, they encrypt it to prevent eavesdropping. If you pay them, they will sell you a decryption key which will enable you to watch it.
All of those things are well known and generally accepted, both in practice and in law. If you decide that they're "bouncing around noise in your dish" you're somehow entitled to take, you're either a sociopath or morally incompetant.
It's about as idiotic and nonsensical as deciding that because a store has put items on a table on the sidewalk that you should be able to take them because they're not in the store.
I'm just tired of this attitude, and the people who embrace it should know that it probably sounds really good to yourself, but to everyone else its just pathetic.